Sharon Buchbinder's Blog - Posts Tagged "research"
Harvest Your Family Tree for Character Names
Several years ago when I first started working on my short romance, Catastrophe, I knew I wanted the heroine to be a resilient, down-to-earth woman and the hero to be exotic, maybe someone who spoke another language. I struggled with the character names, almost leaving them as HEROINE and HERO, and the story stalled. I turned to my other obsession: spending hours researching my family genealogy.
In the midst of tracking down my grandmother’s side of the family, going back to my great-great-great-grandparents, I found them: my characters. Polly Griggs meet Simon Engleman.
Born in Berlin, Germany in 1765, Simon Engleman immigrated to Kentucky. At the age of twenty-five, Simon married Polly Griggs, age twenty, on March 25, 1790 in Lincoln County Kentucky. When I first “met” Simon and Polly, I envisioned them in frontier country, Simon in an old-fashioned European suit and top hat, Polly in a buckskin dress, bonnet on her head, a baby at her breast and a small child clinging to her skirt: the Daughters of the American Revolution Madonna of the Trail.
To read more go to
http://sharonbuchbinder.com/blog/2011...
In the midst of tracking down my grandmother’s side of the family, going back to my great-great-great-grandparents, I found them: my characters. Polly Griggs meet Simon Engleman.
Born in Berlin, Germany in 1765, Simon Engleman immigrated to Kentucky. At the age of twenty-five, Simon married Polly Griggs, age twenty, on March 25, 1790 in Lincoln County Kentucky. When I first “met” Simon and Polly, I envisioned them in frontier country, Simon in an old-fashioned European suit and top hat, Polly in a buckskin dress, bonnet on her head, a baby at her breast and a small child clinging to her skirt: the Daughters of the American Revolution Madonna of the Trail.
To read more go to
http://sharonbuchbinder.com/blog/2011...
Researching the Book–What’s Your Funniest Story?
One of the running jokes we authors have is that if we ever get arrested, our computer browsers will get us in a lot of trouble. Some of us even say, “If I die before you, delete my browser history!”
For me, I think this curiosity and need to find more information dates back to my nerd girl days. When I was a kid, I often acted out my favorite characters exploits. One time, in a Nancy Drew inspired moment, I decided to tie myself up and see if I could get out of the knots. I did. Finally. After a LOT of wriggling and praying my siblings didn’t catch me trussed up like a turkey! That urge for verisimilitude in reading and writing drives me to this day.
To read more, go to http://bit.ly/1p7RcBC
Some Other Child
For me, I think this curiosity and need to find more information dates back to my nerd girl days. When I was a kid, I often acted out my favorite characters exploits. One time, in a Nancy Drew inspired moment, I decided to tie myself up and see if I could get out of the knots. I did. Finally. After a LOT of wriggling and praying my siblings didn’t catch me trussed up like a turkey! That urge for verisimilitude in reading and writing drives me to this day.
To read more, go to http://bit.ly/1p7RcBC
Some Other Child
